‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ rocks audiences, but lacks emotional punch

Before watching the biographical film “Bohemian Rhapsody,” we barely knew anything about the 1970s rock band Queen. The band was big when our parents were growing up, so why would a movie about it now be relevant and interesting today? Sparked by curiosity, we decided to watch the highly anticipated movie.

 “Bohemian Rhapsody” stars actors Rami Malek, Ben Hardy and Mike Myers. Malek plays the band’s frontman, Freddie Mercury. The movie follows Mercury’s life and outlines the rise of the band and the brief period when Mercury left the band.

The movie does a great job of keeping viewers captivated via visuals. The shots are colorful and lively, and the music is highly engaging.

As for the storyline itself, though, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a little lacking. Queen was one of the biggest bands of their time, so the filmmakers could have put in a little more effort to keep the script more interesting.

Despite this, we still enjoyed portrayals of the band, and the dynamics between the actors were lively and still kept us invested in the plot.

Mercury was a showstopping and captivating stage presence marked by his larger-than-life personality. Malek does an excellent job of portraying the frontman’s quirks and flair, with his performances on stage with the rest of the band being the most captivating.

The rest of the cast also gives good performances considering the lackluster script they were given. The dialogue, at times, feels like cliche lines without any personality. Some scenes even employ generic elements like pouring rain to up the emotional punch of the script.

In addition to the weak writing, “Bohemian Rhapsody” only somewhat outlines Mercury’s struggle with his sexuality in the public eye and his battle with AIDS. Although the directors seem to emphasize the music and the look of the film, they didn’t pay as much attention to the difficult details of Mercury’s life. While Mercury’s life is not romanticized, it felt as though the creators looked over those details, leaving us feeling unsatisfied.

Our conclusion:  We would recommend the story of Queen as an entertaining movie with a killer soundtrack, excellent cinematography and authentic performances. But while it is enjoyable on a surface level, it lacks the emotional depth we hoped for.